Pile and method of making the same.



J. H. CRANFORD.

PILE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, 1905. RENEWED JAN. 28, 1910.

' 969,136. P ented Aug.30,1910.

Unrrnn stra'rns PA OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. CRANFORD, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO SIM- PLEX CONCRETE PILING COMPANY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, A CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

PILE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 30, 191G.

Application filed June 29, 1905, Serial No. 267,651. Renewed January 28, 1910. Serial No. 540,698.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrn H. CRANFORD, a citizen of the lfnited States, and a residentof \Yashington, District of Columbia, have invented certain Improvements in Piles and the -Method of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a composite pile partly of wood and partly of concrete, these two members of, 'the pile being so disposed that the entire pile can be put in with a much shorter pilealriver, and in a much more convenient manner than if the entire pile was either of wood or of concrete.

in tropical waters, that portion of a wooden pile from some three feet under the bottom of the water to the high water line, is subject to rapid deterioration or destruction. sometimes by rot. and sometimes by the attack of the teredo or other \voml-destroying animals or insect- By making of conerete the portion exposed to these attacks, the. pile will last a very long time, as the wooden port-ion, being tntirely buried, cannot be acted upon by these destructive agencies.

In the case of piles for foundations of buildings or other structures on land near water, it is always necessary to saw the wooden pile off to a point below the permanent water line, as the wooden pile, if subjected to alternate wetting and drying, will very quickly rot. It therefore, becomes necessary to first drive the wooden pile down to the ground line, 'then to excavate down to a point below the permanent water line and then fill up with concrete or other building material. This excavation and filling up is very expensive, but by making that portion of the pile above the permanent Water line of concrete, such excavation and filling become unnecessary, and obvious economies result.

In the accompanying drawing :Figure 1, is a view showing the wooden pile driven into the ground, the cap being in section;

Fig. 2, is a view of the wooden and tubular pile driven mto the ground; and Figs. 3

l, are sectional views of the finished of wood and the upper portion of concrete .--o that any desired portion of the total length of. the pile can be composed of concrete, the wooden portion being driven so deeply into the ground as to be free from alternate wetting and drying, such as would cause it to rot, while the concrete upper member of the pile will be of such a depth that in under-water work it will be the only portion of the pile contained in the water or soft bottom of the waterway, hence the pile will be free from injury caused by the rav ages of wood-destroying or other insect or animal life.

In carrying out my invention, I first prepare a wooden pile 1, of a length appropriate for this member of the composite pile and drive the same into the ground until its top approaches the surface of the ground, as shown in Fig. 1, the pile being provided with an appropriate metal cap 2. 'Either before the driving operation, or after the wooden pile has been thus driven, the lower end of a tubular pile 3, is titted to the cap 2, this pile serving as the medium whereby the wooden pile 1 and its cap 2 can be driven still farther into the ground, such operation being continued until the wooden pile reaches its proper depth, as shown in Fig. Before commencing this secondary driving operation, a dowel pin -t, preferably consisting of a metal rod or-tube, is driven into the upper end of the pile, or inserted into an opening therein n'oviously prepared for its reception, a portion of this dowel pin projecting above the wooden pile l and its cap 2, as shown in Fig. 2.

The dowel pin 4 aids in uniting the two members of the pile and strengthens the joint between the two, so as to prevent lateral strains upon the concrete member of the pile from causing the latter to break away from the cap 2 of the wooden member, the composite pile being therefore, perfectly rigid throughout all portions of its length. A plurality of dowels, can be used or mechanical equivalents substituted for the same, in order to properly connect the two members and form a pile which is rigid throughtain its )lace when the hollow )ile is withdrawn. and serves as a retaining casing or mold for the concrete member of the pile.

Preferably this interior tube or casing, while extending below the soft bottom of the water-way, does not extend to the bottom of the hollow pile 3, (see Fig. 4) so that the concrete below the lower end of the tube 6 expands to the full diameter of the bore of the opening formed by the cap 2, as shown at 7 in Fig. 2, and thus provides for a better hold of the concrete member of the pile upon the soil at the bottom of the water-way than would be possible if the casing 6 extended all the way down to the cap 2.

In piles of this class, and in fact in all piles in which the concrete member is subjected to a lateral strain I prefer to embed in said concrete member a metallic reinforce, preferably in the form of a wire cage or grating 8, such as shown in Fig. 2, this cage or grating being introduced into the preparatory pile before or after the driving of the same, and the subsequently introduced concrete being forced through the meshes of the'cage or grating, so that the latter will be firmly embedded therein, and will properly strengthen or stiifen the same. The hollow pile 3 is now withdrawn either slowly or intermittently, and during such withdrawal concrete is fed through it into the opening formed above the pile 1 and suitably rammed therein, so that by the time the ho]- low pile 3 is fully withdrawn the concrete member 5 of the pile will extend-from the top of the wooden pile 1 to the surface of the ground. The entire pile 3 can be filled with soft concrete and then withdrawn, leaving the concrete in the ground to set and form the upper portion of the composite pile, or said pile 3 can be withdrawn before filling in the concrete, in which case it is not neces sary that it should be hollow.

My improved composite pile, can'be set by means of a pile driver whose height is determined by the length of a single member of the pile instead of by its total length, so that very long piles can be set by the pile drivers, and While the composite pile is quite as effective for many purposes as one made wholly of concrete, it is cheaper than the latter, or even than a long wooden pile, and the formation of the relatively short concrete member 5 of the pile can be effected in correspondingly less time than the formation of a full length concrete pile, these advantages in addition to the others noted, rendering my composite pile more acceptable the pile 3 permitted to sink to the desired position by reason of such-displacement, aided, if need be, by the blows of a hammer.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The mode herein described of making piles, said mode consisting in driving a wooden pile to a point below the surface of the ground by means of a superposed hollow pile, providing the latter with an internal metallic casing and then withdrawing the hollow pile and filling concrete into the casing, such concrete structure forming a continuation of the wooden pile, substantially as specified.

2. The mode herein described of forming a pile, said mode consisting in driving a. wooden pile to a point below the surface of the ground by means of a superposed hollow pile, providing said hollow pile with an internal metallic casing which does not extend to the bottom of the same, and then withdrawing said hollow pile and filling concrete into the internal casing and into the expanded opening below the same caused by the withdrawal of the hollow pile so that said concrete structure will form a continuation of the wooden pile, substantially as specified,

The mode herein described of forming a pile, said mode consisting in driving wooden pile to a point below the surface of the ground by means of a superposed hol- -low pile, inserting in the latter a metal casing and a metallic reinforce, and then withdrawing the hollow pile and feeding con= crete into the said metallic casing and cans ing it to engage with said metallic reinforce therein, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH H. CRANFORD Witnesses:

H. S. HoUeH'roN, It. G. HUnsoN. 

